8 Surprising Benefits Of Getting a Massage

If your neck’s all knotted up, it’s no surprise that a massage can make you feel a whole lot better.

But the benefits of a good rubdown may run a little deeper than you may think. Here, 8 surprising ways getting a massage is doing your body good.

Massage Benefit: Fight Off Sickness

The feel-good effects of a massage may extend deep into your body. People who received Swedish massageshowed change in their immune system response after the sessions, according to a study out of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

In particular, they experienced a boost in the number of circulating lymphocytes, white blood cells that help fight infection.

Massage Benefit: Ease Back Pain

Chronic low back pain is notoriously hard to treat—and according to new guidelines, you shouldn’t reach for the pills for relief, either,as we reported.

But massage may be a drug-free way to feel better fast. About 50 percent people with chronic low back pain who were given 10 sessions of massage therapy experienced clinically significant improvements in their pain, a study inPain Medicinefound. And the effects were sustained—75 percent who experienced improvements after 12 weeks still showed the benefits at the 24-week mark.

Massage Benefit: Sleep Soundly

People who suffer from back pain tend to have problems sleeping. But massage therapy might help fix that, too.

In University of Miami School of Medicine study of 30 adults with chronic low back pain, those who started 30-minute long massage sessions twice a week for five weeksnoted a significant reduction in sleep disturbances, meaning less awakening during the night or trouble falling asleep. Since the massage also reduced the pain, it’s possible that less aches means higher-quality shuteye, the researchers believe.

Massage Benefit: End Exercise Soreness

If a tough workout has you limping, the answer might be on the massage table: People with trap soreness after a hard workout experienced areduction in soreness intensity after a 10 minutes massage of the affected muscle, according to a studyMassage Benefit: End Exercise Soreness

If a tough workout has you limping, the answer might be on the massage table: People with trap soreness after a hard workout experienced a reduction in soreness intensity after a 10-minute massage of the affected muscle.

Can’t fit in the masseuse after your gym session? Another solution may be just to keep moving: Those who performed “active rest”—in this case, 10 minutes of shoulder shrugs—experienced a similar reduction in soreness.

Can’t fit in the masseuse after your gym session? Another solution may be just to keep moving: Those who performed “active rest”—in this case, 10 minutes of shoulder shrugs—experienced a similar reduction in soreness.

Massage Benefit: Boost Your Mood

It’s not just your imagination—you really do feel better after a massage. And those benefits might extend to people who suffer from depression, too.

After analyzing 17 studies, researchers from Taiwan concluded thatmassage therapy sessions significantly reduced their depressive symptoms Still, more controlled studies are needed to nail down which massage therapy protocols are most effective, the researchers say.

Massage Benefit: Ease Anxiety

People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) May benefit from a massage, too, a new study from Emory University discovered.

After six weeks of Swedish massage therapy, patients with GAD experienced a significant reductions in scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, which measures feelings of worries, tension, fears, insomnia, dry mouth, and restlessness.